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Anybody have experience with a milk fistula?

Hello mothers!

I just had a needle biopsy on my right breast last Thursday to diagnose a tumor I found in my breast. Thankfully, it turned out to be a benign fibroadenoma, but now I am having problems with the incision site from the biopsy. I have developed a milk fistula at the incision, in which my incision is leaking breastmilk.

My OB says that there is nothing I can do to heal it other than wean, and it will continue to leak as long as I am lactating. I am obviously not satisfied with this answer, and I am looking for more information about how to deal with this. I am wondering if any of you out there has experience with a milk fistula and if you know of how to continue nursing with it, help it heal, etc. . .

Re: Anybody have experience with a milk fistula?

sorry, no experience, only many many compliments on your determination to keep on breastfeeding: I understand what you say, sometimes doctors simply don't know or consider that there are other possibilities because they have always followed the easy beaten track... hope you'll find a way, big to you and your baby and really glad that you are well (it must have been scary before knowing the results of the exam).

yes, my son comfort nurses, and I comfort forum!teeth counter now scoring: 11!WAHM (though hubby behaves like I'm a SAHM) to Luca Johannes, born 23/04/2007
as well as his great-grandmother (23/04/1916) and his aunt (23/04/1972)
- both delighted by the generational continuity...

Re: Anybody have experience with a milk fistula?

I have the same thing going on right now and all I can do is cry. I am so lost! Can someone tell me what link was bumped? I tried the link and it is gone!!! Help!!! I have been breast feeding since the biopsy 7 days ago

Re: Anybody have experience with a milk fistula?

My biopsy doctor also told me to wean when this happened to me, but I was able to get great help from a lactation consultant.

You CAN heal your incision site and continue to nurse, although you may need to partially wean off that side just enough to stop the leaking. You can keep nursing on the other side while you do this. When I did it, it took about two to three weeks to completely heal, then I went back to nursing off both sides (I never completely stopped on that side, I just went down to only once or twice a day). My supply went back to even in both breasts after a while, I was able to exclusively breast feed, and I'm now still nursing my two year old.

You can call me JoMo!

Mom to baby boy Joe, born 5/4/09 and breastfed for more than two and a half years, and baby girl Maggie, born 7/9/12.